As the infrastructure of civilized societies deteriorates, the necessity of re-building this infrastructure becomes overwhelming. An important part of this infrastructure is the roadway system which supports the transport of countless goods, services, and persons.
The maintenance of roadway systems usually require that the roadway remain in service during maintenance and repair operations. As a result, the necessity of providing traffic control systems which are both flexible and safe has become increasingly apparent.
To address the requirement of temporary and safe traffic control systems, the prior art has provided a variety of wooden, concrete, plastic, or other barriers including various reflector elements to guide traffic day and night through and around construction and maintenance zones. One of the more popular temporary barriers includes a temporary concrete barrier. This concrete barrier is termed a "Jersey" barrier and is used extensively in heavy traffic maintenance operations.
The concrete barrier has several advantages in that it is rather impervious to the elements (freeze/thaw and traffic abrasions) and the barrier is relatively immovable owing to its "mass". Hence, the use of such barriers along dangerous roadsides, i.e., wherein hazards exist only several feet from the edge of the travelled lane, has become quite popular. Further, again owing to the relative immovability of the barrier, use of the barrier where a substantial amount of combined pedestrian and vehicular traffic is expected is also quite popular.
The largest drawback to the use of these concrete barriers is the sheer mass of the barriers and the consequent difficulty in placing, removing, and transporting the barriers to the several locations where they will be used. Oftentimes, during barrier placement operations, the travelled lane adjacent the construction area where the barriers will be placed is shut down to traffic for a lengthy period. Further, the barriers require a relatively large tractor-trailer or flatbed truck to haul only small quantities at a time. Placement of the barriers requires at least a ten-ton crane including a skilled crane operator, and at least three laborers for proper positioning. Needless to say, this process is slow, labor intensive, a traffic hazard, and requires expensive equipment rental to properly accomplish.
Also, once the barriers have been placed, an errant large vehicle i.e., truck or bus, can displace one of the several barriers only slightly, and create a hazard for further light (cars and motorcycles) vehicular traffic along the barriers. Again, the necessity of a crane and trained personnel are required so as to correct the displaced barrier and reduce the hazard.